OREANDA-NEWS. BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (NYSE:BMO)(TSX:BMO), will hold its 16th annual Back to School Investor Conference on Thursday, September 15, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.

The conference is the longest-running institutional investor conference dedicated to the education sector, and is also one of the largest. This year, the conference is also hosting information services companies amid booming demand for analytics. A key focus will be the evolution of traditional education models given the advent of new products and services.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be this year's keynote speaker.

"The education sector has been adapting to the rapid advances in technology, and we have seen it shape and change the panel discussions at the conference each year," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeff Silber.

The conference is expected to draw more than 800 participants, including some 200 global education and information services companies. It will also feature leading institutional investors, private equity and venture capital funds, as well as industry specialists.

"There has been a material shift in the education sector within the last five years, and we have seen an inflow of EdTech companies that attend the conference," said Susan Wolford, BMO Capital Markets' Group Head of Technology and Business Services. "We are looking forward to lively panel discussions that focus on the evolution of the sector."

The conference is framed around a series of high-level fireside chats, industry panels and Q&A sessions on topics including:

  • Government Policy & How it Impacts Education
  • Investing in the Information Services Sector
  • The Evolution of Higher Ed
Participating Companies
160over90 (Private) Institutional Shareholder Services (Private)
2U (TWOU) INTO (Private)
Achieve3000 (Private) John Wiley (JWA)
AlwaysHired (Private) K12 (LRN)
American Public Education (APEI)** Kaplan (GHC)
Apex Learning (Private) Keypath Education (Private)
Aspiring Minds (Private) KinderCare Education (Private)
Avention (Private) Laureate Education (Guest Moderator)
Baring Private Equity Asia Lumerit Education (Private)
Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) New Mountain Capital
BrightPath Early Learning (BPE) Nobel Learning Communities (Private)
Burning Glass (Private) Nord Anglia Education (NORD)
Cadence Education (Private) Oliver Wyman (Guest Moderators)
Cambium Learning (ABCD) Pansophic Learning (Guest Moderator)
Capella Education (CPLA) Parchment (Private)
Catapult Learning (Private) PluralSight (Private)
CEB (CEB) Portfolium (Private)
Cengage Learning (Private) PowerSchool (Private)
CharterSchools USA (Private) PrepMD (Private)
China Distance Education (DL) Renaissance Learning (Private)
Civitas Learning (Private) Revature (Private)
Credly (Private) Ruffalo Noel Levitz (Private)
Degreed (Private) S&P Global (SPGI)
DeVry Education Group (DV) Schoology (Private)
DiscoverOrg (Private) Shorelight Education (Private)
Dodge Data & Analytics (Private) Stratford Schools (Private)
Dulwich College International Group (Private) Strayer Education (STRA)
Dun & Bradstreet (DNB)** Symphony Health Solutions (Private)
EduCo Global (Private) The Advisory Board Company (ABCO)
Eduventures (Guest Moderator) The Gordian Group (Private)
Ellucian (Private) The Learning Experience (Private)
Eurokids International (Private) The Noodle Companies (Private)
FICO (FICO)** The Parthenon Group (Guest Moderator)
Frontline Technologies (Private) Tutor.com (Private)
Gartner (IT)** University Ventures (Guest Moderators)
GEMS Education Americas (Private) Varsity Tutors (Private)
General Assembly (Private) Vector Learning (Private)
Global University Systems (Private) Vista Equity Partners
GP Strategies (GPX) Warburg Pincus
Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) WorldQuant University (Guest Moderator)
Hearst Health (Private) Whiteboard Advisors (Private)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMHC) Worldstrides (Private)
iD Tech (Private) WyzAnt (Private)
Ilumno (Private) Yup Technologies (Private)
Imagine Learning (Private)